Hi gents and thank you for stopping by the centipede saloon...Yes, yes,yes, William Clarke’s music made an impression on me early on...A part of his genius was the ability to create super fresh harmonica voicings with a handful of notes from the basic scales used in blues. Of course his dynamic sensibilities were razor sharp and he is one of the masters of manipulating tones many colors. I could go on, he was simply a wonderful musician in every sense of the word! Though I am just a pimple on his ass – I’m humbled to be told you hear his influence in some of my stuff…
The CX-12 is great for messing with physically too, as in hacking! I remember when I first saw it at its launch at the 1992 Frankfurt Musik Messe, I was blown away with the cleverness and ergonomic beauty of its design. Snap apart for instant access to the reeds and slider - what a treat compared to the fiddly screws of standard designs!
Since I like to use chroms in different tunings/keys etc it suited me well, as I could have just a few outer housings plus lots of the internal units stored in their own container, and then just snap in whichever one I wanted to suit the song/tune. I added internal metal resonators in the covers, chopped it up into other sizes (CX-10, CX-13, CX-14, CX-16 - I even have a CX-4 and CX-6, just for fun :-), added a Slide Hook, put in other reedplates (Suzuki, Hering), made a short-stroke version)...
Now that I'm an independent operator once again I can publicly reaffirm my love for this amazing harp. Though I like the new Hohner post-2005 reedplates I also find it works well with Suzuki reedplates inside, and am currently making some new HOHZUKI CX-12s. I'm having fun experimenting with metal resonators again to get more of a metallic ring out of it.
It has a few flaws and things to be careful about:
1. OTB The slider is generally curved and too sloppy in the slot. Straighten it and, for a quick fix, apply a thin slick of Vaseline to the slider on both sides. This will make the whole thing much more airtight and silence that annoying slider rattle.
2. Sand the front of the mouthpiece flat - it has slight hollows and bumps from the injection moulding process. Hohner should do this at the factory, frankly.
3. If you do that, you can thicken the slider to where it should be by applying tape to one side and cutting out the holes. Use Magic tape - that milky-looking stuff that goes clear when it's stuck down. This will increase slider airtightness without the need for Vaseline.
4. There are some critical internal locating fins inside the housing at hole 11/12 that fit slots on the comb. Be careful not to damage these as otherwise the comb will not locate properly and the whole instrument will leak like a sieve.
5. The upper comb chambers are too big, causing the top reeds to play poorly, especially on higher keys like C. You can fill the chambers with wax to get better response.
Incidentally you can flip the slider by pulling it out of the button and re-inserting the other way around.
As a hack/amateur player,I haven't noticed those flaws in the CX12...After trying one when they first came on the scene, I immediately bought 8 in different keys and received a nice discount for the bulk order. Believe it or not I purchased them for about 100 bucks a piece back then, they have more then doubled in price since. I really love the CX-12 just the way it is... though I did contact you back in the day when I caught wind you could create CX-16's...sadly I could not afford one of those bad boys, but still dream about playing a CX-16 some day. Why Hohner never took the plunge to manufacture a CX16 stumps me! I am very pleased with the way the CX12 is and operates right outta the box,it never dawned on me that anything needed hacked...Your a Pro player/customizer - so I can understand how you are able to notice these things and perhaps be bothered by them. But again, unless things have changed since I bought mine - they come right out of the box a lean mean playing machine with quality comfort as well a playability already a part of the package.
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 07, 2013 4:36 AM
Thank you...I want to note that the BT is one of Ronnie Shellists. And as I listen to the cx12 vid again -the first couple of minutes swing a lot more then the second half, where it feels like I lost my concentration or started thinkin to much, Anyway - Ronnie has some great groovin Bt's for instant jam sessions at your service :) Here is Ron playin some very cool harp...
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 08, 2013 3:29 AM
I've been on the fence about the CX-12 for awhile, but I think this thread finally convinced me to buy one... anything has got to be betta than my tired ol' chrometta.
Frank, thanks a lot for recommendation! I will check Ronnies BTS. BTW his playing here is very cool and inventive indeed! Thanks a lot for posting this video! ---------- my music
Here is a link for the tracks...Ultimate Blues Jam Tracks I could of mixed that cx12 vid better with the jam track - it sounds to far back,not loud enough ...There seems to always be something a miss in the vids I do, I can never seem to get them just right, always a blooper in there some where. I ain't going after perfection, don't have the time or desire and God knows perfection ain't gonna happen anyhow, so I roll with the punches...It's a learning curve, I commend the guys who can get a mix that is spot on, they got skills! :)
